Tribal tattoos are officially "played out" according to Alex Blimes, features director of GQ. If you don't know what played out means, it means over and done with. Blimes says tattoos in general are loosing their popularity, at least as far as the fashion world is concerned. For example, Melanie Chisholm, better known as Sporty Spice, is reportedly ready to spend thousands of dollars, and endure two and a half years of intermittent physical torment - all in an effort to erase her numerous pieces of body art. She is said to have grown increasingly unhappy with her ten separate designs, which include a Celtic cross on her left arm, a phoenix across her shoulders, and the word 'Angel' above her navel. Once a sign of youth, she know feels it's no longer appropriate.
It's obvious that the look tattoos portray is not traditionally considered "classy". So unless you work in an industry that embraces body art, it's not a wise choice to cover your body with tribal designs. One or two subtle, hidden tattoos are perfectly acceptable, its just wise to put a lot of thought into it. One should consider it a personal form of expression, as opposed to a fashion trend, because that it is not. It has simply lost its rebellious glam, and now is very common and cliché. It's not something you do to be cool anymore, it's something you should do simply to express yourself.
The thing is, Chinese symbols and tribal tattoos are a secretive way to say something, a way to mysteriously make a statement or deliver a message. A decade ago, they used to come with a dangerous frisson of "outsider-dom". They once said, "You can't keep your straight lives and your straight jobs, your domestic appliances, your stiff collars, and your Bible studies with these tattoos." Since that stigma has since faded away, it's now truly about self expression, and no one will think you are unique for having one. It's all about you, so don't make the mistake of getting a generic design.
Show me a girl with a tattoo in 2008, and I'll show you a girl who spends far too much time looking at paparazzi pictures of starlets falling out of minicabs,
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updating her Facebook page and voting via text message in television talent shows. Tattoos are no longer about standing out. They're about fitting in. There's something tremendously conformist about them. When everyone from suburban shop assistants and provincial supply teachers to prospective parliamentary candidates is rocking his or her own individual ink, where's the rebellion in heading down to a parlor for a Maori doodle? Or God forbid - a tribal tattoo!
Why would any mere mortal think she can follow Angelina's lead and get away with it? That's the same as me deciding to ape Johnny Depp's buccaneering approach to male grooming and devil-may-care fashion sense. It might look good on the world's number one heart-throb but, believe me, a nondescript journalist such as your correspondent would not benefit from a wispy goatee, a pair of owlish spectacles and a gratuitous fedora. "I'm always looking for a woman with a tattoo," said the American comedian Richard Jeni. "I see a woman with one and I'm thinking, 'OK, here's a gal who's capable of making a decision she'll regret in the future.' I anticipate a rash of young women following Mel C's lead, who remove their tribal tattoos and admit they made a mistake in getting them!"
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